Board votes to reinstate the Collegiate Readership Program

After a three-week hiatus, copies of The New York Times and USA Today could return to campus as… After a three-week hiatus, copies of The New York Times and USA Today could return to campus as soon as next week.

In a 6-2 vote, Pitt’s Student Government Board approved the reinstatement of the Collegiate Readership Program Tuesday night, after the Board voted during winter break to halt the newspaper distribution. Board members Alex Murdoch and Halim Genus voted against the reinstatement.

“We will support the extension of the readership program by advertising and educating all fellow students on the perks of the program,” Board President James Landreneau said prior to the vote. “We will monitor the activity of the program and offer our support for future Boards with their decision on making this program permanent.”

On Friday, the Board will vote to either resume the program immediately or wait between five and six weeks for the installment of locked drop boxes which would restrict access to the papers to non-College of General Studies undergraduate students.

The Board had briefly halted the program because of difficulties with barring other students, faculty and Pittsburgh residents who do not pay the Student Activities Fee from taking papers. In September of 2010, the SGB members that year approved $30,500 of the Student Activities Fund to cover the cost of the program.

If the Board votes for immediate resumption of the Collegiate Readership Program, Landreneau said that the newspapers will return to their original stands within two weeks.

An Interfraternity Council allocations request also spurred discussion among Board members in Nordy’s Place.

In a 5-3 vote, the Board approved an allocations request to fund catering at the President’s Conference on Jan. 28 — an event for the president, vice president and an emerging leader from each Pitt fraternity and sorority recognized by the IFC.

IFC requested $3,491.30, for food and supplies, but the Allocations Committee recommended that the Board deny the request in full because they did not feel that the food would enhance the conference and the supplies were undocumented.

The Board approved $2,891.30 and denied $600 for undocumented supplies after a motion by Genus to fund the purchase of food.

Board members Olivia Armstrong, Genus, Gordon Louderback, Megan McGrath and Murdoch voted to approve the motion, and Julie Hallinan, Natalie Rothenberger and Zoe Samudzi voted to deny it. Murdoch abstained from the second vote because he will attend the conference as a representative for Sigma Alpha Mu.

Hallinan voted against the motion and said that approving the allocations request amendment would provide about $23 per person for food.

The Allocations Manual does not mention the amount of money that designated Student Affairs Affiliated Groups can receive for food.

Patrick Coppler, the President of IFC and a representative from Delta Tau Delta, said he approved of the Board’s decision.

“They seemed very interested in what we wanted to do,” Coppler said.

Additionally, Landreneau said that the Board did not attend last weekend’s Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students conference at Lincoln University due to the weather. The $666.60 allocated to the Board for travel expenses was not taken out of the Board’s budget.

Instead, the Board conducted a three-hour conference call with the other state-related schools — Lincoln, Penn State and Temple.

Landreneau said that the Board primarily discussed the organization’s upcoming rally, to take place on Jan. 31 in Harrisburg.

Allocations

PantheRaas requested $2710.04 to send their group to a national tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Board approved the request in full.

Panther Rugby Football Club requested $4,036.10 to fund lodging and previously purchased tournament registrations. The Board approved $791.91 for lodging and denied $3,244.19 for the deficit spending.

Men’s Club Water Polo requested $1,732.34 to cover practice costs. The Board approved the request in full.

Men’s Club Water Polo requested $400 to cover practice costs. The Allocations Committee approved the request in full.

Men’s Club Water Polo requested $3,150 for funding a tournament. The Board denied the request in full because the group would exceed the $5,000 competition funding cap.

Pitt’s Pre-Medical Organization for Minority Students requested $2,172.88 to fund a conference. The Board approved the request in full.

Pitt Men’s Volleyball Club requested $3,063.20 to fund the attendance of 15 members of their organization at a national tournament. The Board approved the request in full.

Pitt Men’s Volleyball Club requested $1,894.38 to fund hotel accommodations for the national tournament. The Board approved the request in full.

Pitt Men’s Volleyball Club requested $950 to cover the cost of registration for a national conference. The Board approved the request in full.

Badminton Club requested $15.40 for an online instruction subscription. The Allocations Committee approved the request in full.

Badminton Club requested $285.50 for a portable net, racket bag and racket grips. The Allocations Committee approved $129 for the portable net and denied $156.50.

The Allocations Committee denied the Vietnamese Student Association’s request for $500 because the cost of the food was already paid last week to the event’s co-sponsor, the Chinese American Student Association, and the supplies the group requested were disposable.